All I want is the taste that your lips allow
by SE-TVD
Summary: A/U Set in present day Mystic Falls. Stefan and Elena have known each other for 8 months and are head over heels for each other. But it wasn't always like that. See the struggles they faced to get where they are now.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is my first story and I had this idea in my head for a while and I hope you enjoy it! I would like to think this is an original story, if not I apologize for any resemblance because it is purely coincidental!

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Mystic Falls has always been a small little town out of the limelight and peaceful. A town so full of history that family names are passed down and you inherit the family legacy. You had the Fell's, Lockwood's, Gilbert's, Forbes's, and of course, the Salvatore's. These founding families were of great importance to this small town, and considered royalty in a sense. Now, in present day of 2012, not much has changed, even the superstitions.

For Elena Gilbert this small town was home, a place she loved, and grew up in. She had now turned 17 and she was content with her life. She had amazing friends like Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Tyler, and even a boy named Stefan Salvatore. Stefan and Elena are the best of friends, although they only met 8 months ago it was enough for them to get down to the knitty gritty details of each other. They knew each other like the back of their hands. And they were inseparable, maybe in love even. But it wasn't always like this, for the first month Elena tried to be his friend, but Stefan just avoided her. However that changed one night at a party when they both just happened to be close to their breaking points.

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Stefan was leaning against a tree with a drink in his hand. He wasn't even sure what he was doing at this party, he barely knew anyone. And the one person he did know, he was avoiding her. Gilbert, Elena Gilbert. So there he stood against a tree among his classmates at a bonfire by the old church. He didn't mind being alone, rather he preferred it. But this one girl had something else on her mind, she didn't want him to be alone. "So... Do you think I can stand here with you? Or are you gonna avoid that too?" Said Elena from behind Stefan. Stefan scratched his neck before he responded in a gentle voice. "I'm not avoiding you.." Stefan was tired of running from this girl, he didn't even have a legitimate reason as to why he was. He just didn't want to let someone in for them to hurt him all over again. "Look, I know you are, and to be honest I don't know why you are.. It's not like we're complete strangers. We've known each other for a month." Stefan just stared into her big brown eyes as she was speaking. He was having this internal struggle of opening up, or shutting down. Stefan started to speak, it came out as a whisper at first, but then his voice grew louder. "Elena.. I don't know how to let anyone in anymore. That part of me broke when Rebekah left me. You know that..But I want to be friends with you, I'm tired of being so unsure." Elena brought her hand up to his shoulder and rubbed his arm comfortingly encouraging him to continue.

"I'm sorry, I know I made it hard on you by showing that I wanted to be friends with you, then just quit on that idea cold turkey." Stefan looked down ashamed that he might have hurt Elena. The party was still raging on and a couple of eyes were on them. Elena spoke up after what seemed like an eternity. "Let's go somewhere we can talk in peace, without an audience." He simply nodded. Elena began to walk with Stefan close to her. In the short month they knew each other Elena had grown to like him, maybe a little more than she intended to. Whenever she was with him, much like she was right now, it was right. It was effortless and didn't need a second thought, and not to mention this connection and electricity that flowed through her body whenever they came into contact with each other. Stefan coughed a little bringing Elena's attention back to him. "I want us to be friends Stefan, I know you've been hurt and it's hard to open up, but not everyone is going to hurt you. Especially me, not when I care for you the way I do." The last part came out as a whisper but did not go unnoticed by Stefan.

As they walked their shoulders were touching and their hands brushed each others, and that same electricity buzzed through them both. Their skin burned where it made contact with each other. "I know, which is why I want to stop running." At this point they stopped by the lake, it was only about 9pm and the moon shone bright. Elena looked down to their hands almost touching, and she ran her fingers along the back of his hand. "So, a month ago you were a nice boy who just moved here, football player, nerd, and from a great family. Anything else change during the month you avoided me?" Elena teased Stefan as she was watching him carefully looking for any sign that he didn't like her teasing. But he laughed it off, which surprised Elena. "No, nothing much has changed, I'm still a loner." Stefan looked up and smiled at Elena. Elena could have sworn her heart stopped, his smile was so contagious and it was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

Elena couldn't help but smile back. Elena was sure she had feelings for Stefan, but she didn't know if he felt the same way. And almost as if on cue, Stefan grabbed Elena's hand and intertwined their fingers. Maybe she was imagining it but she could have sworn she saw a look of care and warmth mixed into one in his green eyes. "Well being a loner is my thing too, maybe we can do it together?" Elena asked. "I'd like that, but.." "But what Stefan?" Stefan tightened his hold on Elena's hand, and the same feeling buzzed through them both. "But, are you sure you wanna be friends with someone so complicated?" "Yes, I am. And you aren't complicated." Smiled Elena.

They began to walk and slipped into a comfortable silence. Every now and then they squeezed each others hand reminding them that they're here and they both care. "So, its only like 9.. Would you like to go get a bite?" Stefan asked while feeling himself get lost in her eyes. "Yeah, that sounds good." Replied Elena as she allowed her gaze to drift from his eyes to his lips and back up to his eyes. All of a sudden these thoughts of kissing him flood her mind. She quickly looked away from his eyes and began to walk. She didn't want to rush into things, nor did she want to scare him off. So they walked until they reached The Grill where they got some dinner and fell into a nice conversation that was not forced.

Once they were done, Stefan began walking Elena home and he noticed the wind had picked up and it was getting a bit chilly. They were not talking about anything in particular, just about their childhood. Elena began running her hands over her arms, attempting to create some fiction. "Oh, I'm so sorry I should have given you my jacket earlier" said Stefan while shrugging out of his jacket and placing it on her shoulders. It smelled just like him, it made Elena's mouth water. It smelled of his perfect cologne, and his body wash that seemed to linger around every where he went. "Thanks, But really, It's fine. My house is coming up anyway." She blushed as she looked down. Stefan just smiled "I'm glad I'm not running anymore, it was getting harder to avoid you. I don't even understand why.." Lied Stefan. In reality he knew exactly why, he was falling for her. He fell for her a month ago when he first moved here, but afraid to open up, he began to avoid her. "It's okay" began Elena when she reached her front door "I'm glad you aren't either, I don't think I would have put up with it any longer. It was hard seeing you in 3/4 of my classes and not being able to say hi to you like we did the first 2 weeks you moved here. It was easy those 2 weeks, and I really liked it." Elena blushed and looked down at her feet. Stefan raised his hand and tilted her head up to look her straight in the eyes. "I'm not gonna run anymore."

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Hi, that was the first chapter, I hope you guys liked it and I hope it's something you guys would want me to continue to work on. I'm open to any suggestions! Thank you for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

I don't know if you guys enjoyed the first chapter or not but alas, here is the 2nd chapter! Enjoy :)

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Elena wandered down the halls of Mystic Falls with a goofy little smile on her face, she knew she would see Stefan. And although they are taking it slow and are friends right now, she still finds she gets excited every time she's around him. She stops at her locker and drops off her textbooks to grab her bag. All of a sudden she feels these strong arms wrap around her waist. Before the arms even touched her she felt a buzz in the atmosphere. The arms pulled her closer until she hit a hard chest. She smiled. and bit her lip before she turned around to stare into the most beautiful green eyes she's seen.

Stefan smiled at her completely oblivious to the rest of the students in the hall, his hands began to caress her waist as they moved to the small of her back. Elena blushed and hid her face against his broad muscled shoulder. Stefan took this moment to whisper in her "Elena's sweetheart, wake up. You're gonna be late for school." Confused Elena picked up her head to face Stefan. Stefan just smirked at her and began to lean in to kiss her. His hand tilted her chin upwards and just as he was about to capture her lips she jolted up in bed.

"My goodness honey, you're as good as dead when you're sleeping." Teased Elena's mom (Miranda) Elena groaned and turned her head to bury her face in the pillow. Just as she was about to bury her face her eye caught a black leather jacket hanging on the corner of her bed. She eyed it carefully and memories of last nights events with Stefan flooded her mind.

"Elena..get up will you! You're gonna be late! Also, Stefan called earlier. He said your cell phone was off and that he wanted to pick you up for school today. He'll be here at 8!" Miranda broke Elena out of her daydream as Elena started at her mom as she registered what she just said. She quickly whipped her head back around at the clock and it was 7:30! She had half an hour to shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast! Elena shrieked at her mom "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" "Honey, you were half dead dreaming away." At the mention of a dream Elena blushed as she remembered her dream. He was about to kiss her. How she wished that dream were real, she could still feel Stefan's strong arms wrapped around her. And smell the fresh gum, and cologne emanating from him.

Quickly Elena jumped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom to shower. She was out of the shower by 7:45, and she ran back into her room and opened up the closet. "Great.. now what on earth do I wear...?" She muttered under her breath. She decided to go with a casual look as it was a friday. She pulled out a nice deep purple top that had a nice v-neck that really showed off her long neck, along with that she pulled out her white cardigan and threw on a pair of skinny jeans. She then hustled and applied minimum make up. She was fully dressed by 7:55.

She came downstairs got her coffee and was headed to put her shoes on by the door when the doorbell rang making her jump! "I got it!" Screamed Elena so no one else would come to the door. She opened the door and her eyes met Stefan's. Stefan smirked at her and allowed his gaze to go over her body to see what she wore. "You look beautiful, ready?" "Thanks, and I sure am!" Blushed Elena. She was about to walk out when Stefan suddenly turned around causing Elena to bump into his hard chest. Elena instinctively grabbed his waist to prevent from falling backwards. But Stefan caught her just in time. The electricity was buzzing between them and Elena's back was on fire where Stefan was holding her. Carefully she steadied herself and Stefan apologized.

"So, I was wondering.. Would you like to go on a date with me tonight?" Asked Stefan almost fearlessly. Stefan was ready, It had been 5 months since Rebekah left him and he was ready to let himself open up and be happy. He knew he felt something Elena, but it was time he did something about it. Elena was calm on the outside, but inside? She was jumping up and down screaming at the top of her lungs. "Yes, of course!" She exclaimed almost too soon. She didn't want to seem desperate. But Stefan just smiled and offered to take her to dinner at Angelo's about 30 minutes out of town.

By this point Elena knew she was a goner, Stefan was talking as he was driving to school but all she could think about was how right it felt being with him. And how his arms felt so good around her, she felt safe. Elena allowed herself to be quite miserable after she broke things off with Matt 3 months ago, but this was different. Stefan gave her butterflies she never felt before. As Elena was watching Stefan drive her eyes traveled all over him.

He has amazing green eyes, and a defined jaw line. He was strong and muscular, she could still feel his chest against her chest when she bumped into him. His smile was flawless, it made her feel all giddy and happy. Lastly her gaze fell upon his lips. They were full, and all she could think about was how she wanted to kiss him, and never let him go. She was so mesmerized by him she never noticed when they stopped in the school parking lot.

Stefan came around and opened the door for her offering her his hand. "Thank you, I didn't think guys did that anymore." She laughed as he intertwined their fingers. "Yeah well, I told you I was weird. It was the first thing I told you when you asked me to tell you about myself." Elena giggled as she remembered that a month ago. They were walking down the hall at this point and Stefan just followed her to her locker. They joked about their first impressions of each other as she organized her books in her locker.

It was in this moment when Stefan realized he had fell for Elena. She was so kind and caring that it warmed his heart. Her perfect hair that fell straight behind her back smelled of honey and hibiscus. Her big brown eyes were so full of light that they spoke a thousand words. Her tan olive skin so smooth and soft, it was natural beauty. Stefan then dropped his gaze to her lips, this was the first time he thought of kissing her.

"Stefan? Hello? You there?" Elena joked around and grabbed his shoulder breaking him out of his daydream. "Yeah, I'm here, sorry I was just daydreaming." The bell rang above them, and Elena looked up as if to see someone standing above her with a bell. She was a bit frustrated because she had to go to class now, and she didn't have first period with Stefan. "I know, it sucks not having first period with you" said Stefan bringing her attention back to her. "Can you read minds or something?" scoffed Elena softly. Stefan put his hand on her waist and brought himself closer to her. There was about an inch of space between their chests and Elena could smell his perfect scent from where she was standing.

Stefan's green eyes bore into her brown eyes, and almost instinctively Elena's arms went around his waist. Before she could register what she just did, Stefan chuckled fanning his sweet breath across her face. Elena's eyes drifted to his lips, back up to his eyes, and back down to his lips again. Stefan brought her closer and put his lips to her ear and whispered huskily "You're gonna be late for math" Elena's skin tingled and she shuddered from pleasure.

Stefan pulled back a bit and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before turning around and walking away. Elena just watched him walk away unable to move. She touched her cheek where his lips were placed, she smiled a big goofy smile and her breath caught as she took in what just happened. Stefan kissed her. Granted it was her cheek, but he still did. Elena turned around and saw a blonde girl standing in front of her. "ELENA GILBERT! Please tell me that was Stefan Slavatore who you just made out with!" Caroline was Elena's best friend and she was always so bubbly and happy. It then clicked that from someone else's point of view her hair must have blocked the place where Stefan truly kissed her. Making it look like they made out. "No! It's not like that! We didn't make out! He just kissed my cheek." Smiled Elena dreamily at Caroline. "Who kisses a cheek these days? Jump his bones Gilbert!" Caroline exclaimed happily. Caroline was happy Elena was moving on and found someone who was worthy of her time. Elena hooked her arm through Caroline's and huffed "It's not like that, It's more that jumping his bones." Caroline just nodded not understanding the whole concept of taking it slow. And with that they set off for math. Elena couldn't wait until 2nd period History where she would see him again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is up! I hope you guys enjoy! Leave comments in the review so I can get an idea of what you guys like and dont like! Thank you for reading :)

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The day dragged on and on for Elena, it was never gonna end. It was the last 2 minutes of math and then she had lunch, which meant she could see Stefan. was saying something about finding the X in F(X), but she wasn't paying attention. Elena began doodling on her notebook and before she even noticed it she had wrote Stefan's name all over it. Before Caroline could see what she wrote she ripped out a piece of paper from her binder and covered her notebook. The last thing she needed was Caroline nagging her about having a crush on Stefan.

Elena absentmindedly let her eyes roam around the room, Caroline was to her right, Bonnie towards the front, Matt at the back, and Tyler to her left. Her eyes eventually made their way to the window in the door, but as she was looking away a movement in the door caught her attention. She looked back again and she saw Stefan smiling at her. Elena closed her eyes and decided she was going crazy, but as she was putting her head down on her desk a note fell on her binder. No doubt it was from Caroline. Elena reluctantly opened the note "_Hottie lamatie at the door waiting for you princess peach ;) " _Elena turned towards the door and sure enough Stefan was standing there with a long face because she had put her head down upon seeing him.

Elena took this chance to try and cheer him up, she asked to be let out a minute early because she needed to make a phone call, and sure enough she was allowed to leave. She walked back to her desk to collect her things and Caroline caught her arm to give her an all knowing wink. Elena blushed and brushed her arm off giving her a smile in return.

As Elena was closing the classroom door behind her she looked for Stefan but found the hall's empty. Curious as to where he went she began to look for him. Halfway down the hall she found a note taped to a locker. Curiously she picked up the note and opened it "_walk towards the end of the hall" _Slowly she made her way to the end of the hall where she found another note _"Turn around and walk back to your math room" _Elena smiled but was frustrated she needed to go back.

By her math room on the floor was a little package about the size of a deck of cards, she picked it up and examined it. Stefan was still nowhere to be seen and surely this was all his doing. Elena let out a huge sigh as we opened the package. In the package was a small card that held information to her date with Stefan tonight. Along with a dress code. Elena smiled and bit her lipas she felt someone watching her.

She turned around and saw Stefan at the end of the hall with a little smirk on his face. Slowly Elena walked towards him, as she reached him she began to speak "You had to make me walk back and forth like an idiot just so I could get this package?" she was trying hard not to smile but failed and she bit her lip again. She seemed to be doing that a lot around him. "Just having some fun I guess, it was fun watching you look confused and happy at the same time." Stefan said as he moved closer to her grabbing her hand intertwining their fingers. It felt effortless being with him, and this feeling that they both gave each other was inexplicable. It was like their skin was on fire, and every nerve was being jolted to life. As Elena began inching closer to him in the empty hall the bell rang and out poured all the student's from the classrooms.

"God damn this bell" whispered Elena as she backed away from Stefan a little bit. "So, what would you like to do for lunch ?" They began to walk towards the cafeteria but Elena yanked on his arm indicating him to go the other way. "Maybe we could sit outside? It's beautiful today." "Okay, that's fine with me. But as they neared the exit a tall figure stood in their way. Elena gasped a little and Stefan easily recognized Matt. "So, Elena..this is who you leave me for?" Matt was sending glares towards Stefan but before Elena could even respond Stefan spoke up. "That was over 3 months ago Matt, you should get over it." Elena looked up at Stefan in awe, she did not expect him to defend her. But it felt good, to be defended and to be cared for.

"The same way you got over Rebekah?" Countered Matt. Stefan stiffened a little at the mention of her name, and Elena brought her hand up to his shoulder and rubbed it soothingly while glaring at Matt. "Matt, You know nothing. Why don't you just leave." Said Elena while raising her voice. Matt shook his head and walked away.

Elena brought her attention back to Stefan who regained his composure. "Are you gonna be okay?" Elena now held his hand as they were walking to the outside tables. Stefan looked up at her and smiled. "I meant it when I said I was done running, I'm fine, She no longer has a hold over me." Stefan now ran his thumb along her cheek, and without thinking Elena leaned into his hand. That feeling was back, where every nerve was set on fire. Stefan's green eyes carefully watched Elena's brown eyes and saw what his touch was doing to her.

Elena did not expect to be in a relationship with Stefan right away, nor did she want to. She wanted to get to know him again, and be there for him. Stefan felt the same way as well. They both know what its like to be hurt and now they're opening up to each other. When Stefan and Elena first met a little over a month ago, Stefan had moved back to Mystic Falls after living with his father in New York. Upon meeting each other they had an instant attraction. They got to know each other for 2 weeks, and when they started to develop feelings for each other Stefan began avoiding her. He's not going to be avoiding her anymore, and he hated himself for wasting 3 weeks avoiding her when he could have been getting to know her and fall even harder for her.

"Stefan, I want you to know that you can talk about your past with me. The reason why we agreed to stop running was because we were ready to be in each others lives again. I want you to know that no matter what your past is, its in the past. And I know Rebekah broke you, but before we get involved with each other, I want us to be aware of what we're getting into." Elena raised her hand and cupped his face and began playing with the ends of his hair at the back of his neck. Stefan looked at her lovingly, how did someone he knew for a little over a month understand him, and care about him so much?

"I know, and I trust you Elena. I do. Which is why I agree with you, we should get this awkward Ex's talk out of the way.." He quieted down and focused on the feeling she was giving him by playing with his hair. He sighed, closed his eyes and whispered "That feel's good." Elena smiled being satisfied with the way she was making him feel. With his eyes still closed Elena leaned forward slowly until there was no space between them. Stefan could smell her strawberry lip gloss with his eyes closed. As he opened his eyes Elena's face was less than an inch away, carefully she brought her other hand around his neck and intertwined her fingers behind his neck. Stefan brought his hand and rested them at the small of her back and felt the exposed skin there. It felt soft, and Elena was buzzing with this feeling that only Stefan could give her. Stefan scooted even closer towards her until their chests were touching. Elena's breathing began to hitch, Stefan leaned forward unsure if he should kiss her but Elena confirmed and crashed her lips down onto his.

The moment their lips touched it was like nothing mattered, the months Stefan spent being hurt by Rebekah flew out the window and all traces of Matt left Elena. Elena brought one hand to the nape of his neck as Stefan cupped her face and deepened the kiss. Her other hand now rested on his chest grabbing at this shirt bringing him closer. Feeling a lack of air Stefan pulled back a little to rest forehead to forehead and nose to nose. Breathlessly they both laughed as their eyes were still closed. Elena opened her eyes to find Stefan staring right back into them. "Well, who knew you'd be a good kisser?" teased Stefan. Elena playfully smacked his chest and blushed a deep red. "You're cute when you blush." Elena just stared into his eyes getting lost all over again but Elena opened her mouth to counter his comments. "Eh, it was okay. I was expecting more from Stefan Salvatore.." Joked Elena as Stefan brought her closer and rested his head against hers. He pulled the hair back that was covering her ear and whispered, "Who said that's all I had in me?" Elena sighed at the way his breathe tickled her neck. She smiled and brought Stefan into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waist. They were strong, and they felt right. "Good, cause I might need more effort on your end." Elena pulled back to wink at him.

Stefan just smiled, his heart was swelling and he was all giddy. He had butterflies in his stomach for the first time. The way she winked and bit her lip was enough to drive him mad. He simply pulled her back into his embrace and placed a kiss on her temple. "Maybe we can talk about our ex's some other time."

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Hi ! So that was the third chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it! And yes some Stelena fluff! Keep reviewing and leave suggestions! Thank you so much :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hi again! The last chapter was a bit eventful in terms of Elena and Stefans relationship and I hope you guys are still interested! Here's chapter 4:)

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The bell rang signaling the end of the day and Stefan and Elena just exited their history class with an exciting new project. After their first kiss at lunch Stefan and Elena were a whole lot more comfortable with each other and they were not afraid of making the first move anymore. With ease Elena grabbed Stefan's hand and squeezed it as she smiled at Stefan. "So what time should I be ready by?" Stefan looked at the time on his phone and decided 7pm would be a decent time. "What do you say about being ready for 7?" Elena smiled and hugged Stefan's arm now as they made their way to her locker. "Can do!"

When they got to her locker Elena let go of Stefan to gather her books so Stefan could drive her home to get ready for their date tonight. As Elena was occupied at her locker, Stefan's phone buzzed and an all too familiar number flashed across the screen. Stefan's eyes widened just a bit as he associated the number with a face. He almost didn't want to believe it, so he slowly put the phone away in his pocket. "Are you ready to go?" Elena's soft gentle voice broke him out of his thoughts. Stefan smiled at her and led her out to his car. Fifteen minutes later they were in front of her house and they were talking in the car.

"So, you're telling me you've never had a serious relationship before?" Stefan asked Elena this after she mentioned the lack of dating history in her life. "Well, nothing serious, I guess I never met the right guy.." Stefan held her hand and was tracing circles on the back of her hand, as he thought of what she said. She never had someone care for her, and love her. He wanted to be that guy, he wanted to be the one to be there for her. He wasn't even sure what they were at this point. Could he call her his girlfriend? Or were they just friends? Stefan spoke up after a couple of minutes. "I hope that changes." Elena simply responded with "It has."

Stefan looked up and into her eyes as he brought his hand up to caress the side of her face. Elena wanted to just grab him and kiss him, but she was waiting for him to make the first move. Stefan leaned in closer while rubbing his thumb on her cheek. Elena placed her hand on his chest, their lips were almost touching before he whispered "I hope you were talking about me." Elena gasped as the smell of Stefan hit her, the perfect combination of mint, his cologne, and his body wash that seemed to linger. She closed her eyes anticipating the next move but a honk of a car broke them up.

Elena let out a huge frustrated sigh as she turned to see who was honking at them. Stefan let out a silent groan as his gaze followed Elena's where a car stood and behind the wheel was the one and only Caroline Forbes getting all happy and smiley that she had caught them in such a perfect moment. "I think I might strangle her! She has no timing at all." Complained Elena as she turned back to Stefan. He chuckled and watched Elena huff and puff in frustration. "She does suck a little, I mean, I was enjoying myself." He smirked at Elena, and Elena just stared at this gorgeous face and wondered how someone like him could even be interested in someone like her. She blushed before suggesting she should get going otherwise Caroline would come and drag her out of the car.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at 7, just call me if you need more time to get ready." Stefan leaned in to kiss her slowly and as Elena reached up the cup his face as they deepened the kiss. Elena was the first one to pull away after she heard another honk from a very annoyed Caroline. "I'll see you later" chuckled Elena. "Bye."

Elena got out of his car and made her way to Caroline to give her a piece of her mind, why on earth would she honk?! Elena has known Caroline her whole life but she still manages to annoy Elena. Caroline got out of the car and was jumping up and down in front of Elena squealing in excitement. "Oh my god Elena Gilbert! He is totally hot! You scored big time! What's he like? Is he a good kisser? Is he nice? Is he good with his hands?" winked Caroline. "Why Caroline, why?"

Elena just looked at her in complete awe, how can someone be so bubbly and oblivious to the fact that someone was mad at them? Caroline did not even notice the frustration rolling off of Elena's shoulders. Elena decided to give up, so she took a deep breathe in and let it out and walked past Caroline to go in to her house. Caroline of course followed right behind. "Mom! I'm home!" exclaimed Elena making her presence known. "Me too Mrs. Gilbert!" Elena turned around to look at Caroline. "What?" asked Caroline innocently. "Nothing, come upstairs, I need your help picking out an outfit for tonight." Caroline yelped and grabbed Elena's arm and ran upstairs dragging Elena along. To say Caroline was excited, is an understatement. So Elena braced herself for the hours to come with Caroline.

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Elena stood in front of her mirror and adjusted her dress. She wore a knee length turquoise dress that had a deep neck line. It was strapless and hugged her body nicely. Caroline was satisfied with her job and turned to face Elena to put on the last piece to her outfit. She turned her around and clipped a necklace on Elena's neck. "Caroline, Thanks for doing this. I think I would have been overwhelmed with what to do and what to wear. But, NEVER honk while I'm doing something like that with Stefan." Caroline gripped her shoulders and hugged her. "Im sorry, I was just excited! I want to see you happy, and after Matt, I think this is the right one. And you are welcome." Miranda walked in and smiled at them. "You look beautiful honey, but its almost 7 and I believe you have yourself a very handsome date waiting downstairs for you. You could have told me he was attractive!" "Mom!" groaned Elena. Elena took a deep breath and made her way downstairs. As she was coming down the stairs she made eye contact with Stefan. Stefan had a sharp intake of breath. She looked stunning to him. "Hi" they both whispered at the same time. Stefan took the bouquet of flowers he bought her and gently handed them to her. "Aww, thank you." Smiled Elena.

Caroline quickly grabbed the flowers and ran to the kitchen while screaming she'll put them in a vase. Stefan took Elena's hand as they walked to his car, as Stefan was about to open the door for Elena he leaned in very close and said "You look beautiful tonight." With that he opened the door and closed it as Elena sat in. When Stefan sat in Elena turned to him to cup his face and place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you" she whispered.

After they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food Stefan motioned to grab Elena's hand. "So, I was wondering, my mom asked me who I was going on a date with tonight, and I told her it was you. She was happy for me, but she asked me if we're dating and I said I don't know." Stefan carefully looked at her before Elena began to speak "Well, I would like to think that we're at least seeing each other." She squeezed his hand. "We can take it slow if you'd like. Listen Elena, I know that I'm falling hard for you, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that I would love to be your boyfriend, but if you'd like to take it slow, then we'll take it slow, I'm in no rush." Elena smiled like a little schoolgirl, Stefan made her feel happy. "My, my Salvatore, are you asking me to go steady with you?" asked Elena teasingly. "Why, I suppose I am." Countered Stefan.

The rest of the date flowed; it was effortless when they were together. Even when it was silent, it wasn't awkward, they were comfortable with each other. They were both falling hard and they knew it.

Stefan and Elena stood on her porch not wanting to say bye to each other. "Thank you for tonight, I had a really good time…And of course I'd like to go steady with you Stefan. I'm falling hard for you and I know this is right cause whenever I'm around you it's like my every nerve is ending, I get this feeling like this is right. I don't want to lose that." Confessed Elena while looking at her shoes. Stefan pulled her into a hug and placed a kiss on her temple. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere and this is right. I feel it too." Elena placed her head in the crook of his neck and inhaled the smell of Stefan. Stefan pulled back a little to look into her eyes, he looked at her lips and before he could make the first move Elena had kissed him. It was short and sweet but spoke everything she felt. Stefan smiled at her before whispering bye in her ear and gave another quick kiss.

As Stefan was driving home his phone began buzzing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the same number as earlier today. He took a deep breath before answering it. "Damon?" He breathed out.

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That was chapter 4! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Thank you for the reviews I get! I'm open to suggestions so keep reviewing so that I know what you guys like and don't like! Thank you :)


	5. Chapter 5

So the last chapter ended on a bit cliffhanger but I hope it got your attention! Here's the 5th chapter :)

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Flashback: 2 years ago.

"_Stefan, I want this for me. I don't see why this is a problem. I want more from life, I want to be able to live on the edge and experience in a whole new way. This is that chance." _

_"Damon, you can't do this. Think about it, do you have any idea what this will do to you? What about Mom? Dad? Me?" _

_"Stefan, I've made my choice. You won't be able to change it. Give Mom and Dad my love. And be strong Stefan." _

Present time:

"Damon?" asked Stefan hesitantly into the phone. "It's been a while brother." Responded Damon. "Yeah, 2 years to be exact. I wasn't planning on hearing from you for a while."

"I guess I just missed my family." Stefan couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that his brother is now calling him, and saying he misses them. "Well you should have thought of that before you left…where have you been brother?"

There was a noise in the background before Damon spoke up. "I've been around, travel, and found some friends." Stefan scoffed. Damon made this sound normal, none of this was normal.

"And how's that life?" Stefan asked curiously. Damon immediately knew what he was talking about. "We don't have to get into that, we both knew you didn't support me."

This angered Stefan. "Support you?! What are you supposed to say when your brother runs off to become a vampire?"

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Stefan lay in bed reflecting on his day today. He had an amazing time with Elena, there was something about her that just made him want more. Her smile, her beautiful big eyes, and her smell. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. He now waited for the day he could call her his girlfriend.

Then he thought about that phone call, and Damon. Damon left 2 years ago without an explanation to his parents. He simply told them he wanted to go off on his own for a while. Being a Salvatore, that was arranged given his family's extensive business reputation and wealth. Only Stefan knew the real reason. A reason he did not understand or support. Stefan was born in Mystic Falls but moved away at the age of 8. He still remembers the superstitions and the stories of the Vampires. He would have never thought his own brother would embark on his own journey to achieve vampirism. It still seemed like a dream.

Damon had told him that he was coming back home. He would arrive in a week, what would it be like? Would Stefan be able to live with him again? So many questions ran through his mind but a soft knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts.

"Come in" Stefan called towards the door. As the door Stefan's mom Eve walked in. Stefan adored his mother; she was a kind person who had a heart big enough to love thousands of people. Stefan had never understood how she was capable of so much happiness and love. Eve walked in and sat on the foot of his bed with a little smile on her face.

"So, how was the date? Did she like it? Were you a gentleman?" Stefan laughed at his moms inquisitions. "It was good, I really enjoyed myself. Elena's amazing and she's so beautiful. And of course, I was the perfect gentleman." Stefan smiled softly at his Mom. But that soon turned into a tight line as he was about to bring on the next topic.

"Damon called me tonight" – he went on slowly "he's coming home in a week… he said he misses us." Eve sat there looking at Stefan and absorbing what he just said. Her son would come home again, he was really coming back. These 2 years had been the hardest on her; with her oldest son gone the house was quiet. Stefan had no one to fight with anymore, and she had no one to scold. She missed her son dearly. Stefan's father Giuseppe was okay with Damon living on his own for a while. He understood the curiosity of a young man. Of course neither of them knew the truth about what he was doing during these 2 years, but that didn't mean they did not miss him.

"After 2 years he's coming back?" Eve was speaking barely above a whisper. There was a look in her eye, a look of relief almost. "Yeah, he wants to come back home…" Stefan did not know what to expect upon Damon's return. How would he go about fulfilling that need for blood?

Eve stood up and made her way to the door. "Thank you sweetie for telling me, I think I can finally breathe when he comes back. I should get Jeffery to set his room up again." She smiled a genuine smile before she big Stefan goodnight. Stefan was happy his Mom was happy, to him that's all that really mattered.

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Elena lay awake in bed thinking about her date last night with Stefan. She glanced over at her phone and saw that it was 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. She unlocked her phone before scrolling through her contacts to find Stefan's name. But before she could get into the "S" section a text popped up onto her screen.

"_Good morning beautiful :)" _

She giggled at the irony of the moment before feeling these butterflies in her stomach. She opened the text to reply.

_"Good morning Salvatore. I was just thinking about you. ;)" _

Elena put her phone down before she got out of bed. She turned around to turn on the radio and began dancing around her room to "Call me maybe" She turned up the volume as she made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. As she was going to the bathroom she saw her dad standing by the door watching her dance around.

"Not creepy at all Dad, how long you been there?" asked Elena. Grayson made his way to his daughter before he walked over to her and gently kissed her forehead. "Not long, just long enough to see you dance to this horrible song." He teased her before he left to make coffee downstairs.

Elena quickly brushed her teeth and showered before she came back and plopped down on her bed to read Stefan's text.

"_Good things I hope. What are you doing today?" _

Elena smiled. It was just a text, she didn't know why she was getting all giddy. _My gosh, what is wrong with me?_ Thought Elena.

_"Hmm, I don't know. I do have a lot of homework…" _ She hoped he would pick up on her sarcasm. The truth was Elena had no homework.

_"Forgot I'm in all your classes? We have none. :P" _ Elena's attempt at flirting a little backfired. She was kind of bad at this.

"_Oh yeah..:$ And I'd love to do anything as long as it's with you :)" _

_"I'll pick you up at 12 then. Lunch and a movie?" _Elena smiled, she had another date today with Stefan. Wait. Was this a date? Or is this 2 friends hanging out? She didn't know what it was but as long as she got to kiss Stefan, she didn't care what they did.

"_Sounds good, just promise me I get a kiss then it's a date ;)" _

_"As many as you want babe." _ Elena's heart fluttered. This was the first time he had called her anything like that. It felt good to be wanted and to be loved. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. She was happy with Stefan. And she intended on enjoying it.

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So that was chapter 5! It was short but I hope you guys liked it and still want me to continue to write! Thank you so much for the reviews, they really help!


	6. Chapter 6

Hi! I'm sorry for the late update but school has been keeping me busy so I'll try and write a couple more chapters this weekend so I can update them throughout the week! Thank you for the reviews! They truly help! I was also wondering if I should begin doing point of view writing from different characters. Leave me a review if I should or should not begin point of view writing! Thank you :)

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A week had passed since Stefan and Elena's first date, and they were infatuated with each other. They spend a majority of their time together and are currently in that honeymoon stage of their relationship. Stefan and Elena have both opened up to each other and understand each other a whole lot more.

Stefan felt it was difficult to keep the issue of Damon away from Elena so he sat her down and explained everything he could, minus the vampire part. Although Elena grew up in Mystic Falls and was very much aware of the history and stories that came along with this small little town, Stefan did not want to be the one to bring this into her life.

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Stefan sat in his room on his bed waiting for that knock on that door that would signal _his _arrival. It was 8am on a Saturday when he heard that knock. Slowly he began to make his way downstairs to open the door however Jeffery beat him there.

"I'll get it Jeffery, don't worry. Thank you though." – Stefan said as he approached the door. He opened the door and stared into a set of deep blue eyes. Stefan was speechless; he had nothing to say to the person standing before him. He was abandoned by this person, and now this person was knocking at his doorstep.

He took a deep breath before he began warily "Rebekah."

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Elena sat on her bed painting her toenails when Miranda walked in and took a seat at the foot of her bed.

"Elena honey, I was just wondering you know out of morbid curiosity and nothing more… Are you and Stefan official yet?" – asked hesitantly afraid of invading her daughters privacy at such an age. But Elena simply laughed.

"No actually, we aren't. But it isn't like we're seeing other people; we trust each other and we want it to be at the right moment. We both understand that. Why?" – watched her mom carefully as she blushed.

"Well now that you're 17 and growing up, your father and I understand what comes with being in a relationship. Well, I do. Your father doesn't. I still however need to you know that you should um – Cough – uh be conscious of your physical interactions with Stefan." Miranda was getting uncomfortable with having this talk with her daughter. But she knew it needed to be covered.

Elena's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Was this really coming from her mom? Better her mom than her dad she thought. "Mom, Stefan and I aren't involved like that." Elena looked down at her nails as she began to feel embarrassed.

"Well honey I'm just saying." Miranda got up and left the room before Elena could profess her embarrassment. Elena went back to painting her toenails when her phone rang. She carefully stepped off the bed avoiding anything that would ruin her nails. She walked on her heels toward her desk and saw "Stefan" flash across her screen. She quickly picked it up and pressed answer.

"Hi" Elena breathed out cheerily. Elena got butterflies in her tummy as she heard Stefan let out a strained laugh. His laugh was perfect. "Hey, what are you up to?"

"Nothing, I just finished painting my nails." Elena held her hand up in the sun as she examined her freshly done nails.

"Listen, Elena…" – began Stefan. Elena couldn't help but feel a little worried at the tone of his voice. "Could you come over for a bit? There's something I need to talk to you about." Elena tensed a bit; she didn't know what it was Stefan needed to talk to her about. "Yeah of course, I'll be there in 20." Elena heard a muffled voice in the background before it became clearer. "You don't need her to come here! I'm here aren't I!"

Elena could not recognize the voice; however she did have a British accent. Elena narrowed her eyes a little bit before Stefan spoke up to the girl in the background. "That's the problem you are." – Stefan turned his attention back to Elena. "Okay, I'll see you soon babe." Stefan hung up before Elena could ask who that was, and what she was talking about.

Elena could not help but feel weird about this situation. A girl whom she did not know was clearly in Stefan's house. Maybe he had family over? No, he wouldn't call Elena over then. Elena got up to get ready before her mind got the best of her. But she could not help but feel jealous.

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Stefan hung up the phone before he turned to face the she devil standing in his room. Rebekah had surprised him when she had shown up at his doorstep. He was finally letting himself move on and be happy with Elena. He wanted to make it official now but waited for the right moment. But this morning opened up the jar he had sealed shut, especially when Damon was the one bringing Rebekah home. Damon had walked right in after Rebekah with a smile on his face. Stefan was not expecting this at all. Over 2 years ago Damon left this house, and now he comes back and is in a relationship with Rebekah. What are the odds? Stefan was hurt by his own brother.

Rebekah's voice brought him back to reality – "So, who is this new girlfriend of yours? I must admit it kind of bothers me that you've moved on."

"Ha, I'm supposed to pine over you while you run around shacking up with my brother? No, doesn't work that way. And I want you out of my room, and out of the way when Elena comes over. Go run around Damon or something." Stefan began to get angry as he looked at her.

Damon then walked into the room with a smirk on his face. "So brother, what's this I hear about a new girl in your life?"

"That's none of your business" - Stefan stopped and looked up at his brother before he began again. Stefan missed him dearly. "But Damon… I don't want to fight with you. You're finally back home after 2 years. Where have you been? What's your life been like? I'm still waiting for answers to all my questions. Do you have any idea how hard it was to not be able to look mom in the eye and tell her where her son was? You hurt us all."

Damon could not look at Stefan in the eye at this point. He knew he hurt his family, but he knew the complications when he took off to become a vampire. Damon spent these 2 years travelling and acquiring knowledge from every part of the world he could. He struggled at first; it was hard controlling the bloodlust. It took over his life for the first year, and he began killing innocent people without remorse. But after he met someone named Elijah he attempted to mend his ways. He now lives off blood bags instead. Damon had changed, the vampirism heightened everything in him and now he was a jerk. But when Damon cared for someone, he would stop everything to put their happiness first. These people were usually his family members. Stefan was his little brother through all of this, and he knew that him showing up with Rebekah hurt him but you can't help who you fall in love with.

Damon took a deep breath before he walked over to Stefan and placed a hand on his shoulder. Stefan relaxed under this touch a bit. He was his older brother and he would always be there for him no matter what. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that Stefan. You have no idea how sorry I am, it haunts me knowing that I turned my back on you when you were just 15, and mom…I don't know what to say to mom when she gets back home. But Stefan, me doing this, and me changing my life has nothing to do with you. I'm still the same person, I'm still your brother, and right now… you're all I got. And I will always be here for you."

Stefan looked him in the eye before his ego wavered and he hugged Damon. Their bond was unshakable before he left, and they both secretly hoped that wasn't lost.

Damon spoke up "Dinner tonight at The Grill, you and me." Stefan nodded. A doorbell ringing brought them out of their little bubble. Rebekah got up to go get the door. "Well this should be interesting don't you think?" She smirked at Stefan before going downstairs.

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That was chapter 6! I hope you guys are still very much interested!


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